Epigenetics
Engage in seminars and hands-on sessions covering concepts, techniques, and data analysis methods for human epigenetics studies, specifically DNA methylation arrays.
Modules/Weeks
Weekly Effort
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Course Description
The Epigenetics Boot Camp is a two-day intensive boot camp of seminars and hands-on analytical sessions to provide an overview of concepts, techniques, and data analysis methods utilized in human epigenetics studies and focused on DNA methylation array.
- Learn the fundamental principles of epigenetics and understand how risk factors influence the epigenome.
- Explore key components of designing and executing DNA methylation studies, considering risk factors and epigenetic effects.
- Engage in hands-on computer sessions to handle real methylation data from the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip platform.
- Gain proficiency in data handling, cleaning, and basic analysis of epigenome-wide DNA methylation data, focusing on 450K/EPIC data.
To contact support for this course, please email [email protected].
Course Prerequisites
- Each participant is required to have a personal laptop/computer and a free, basic RStudio Cloud account. All lab sessions will be done using RStudio Cloud.
- The Boot Camp will use data sets in R, therefore participants must have a basic understanding of this platform prior to attending the Boot Camp. If you have never used this platform before, make sure to step through all the tutorials outlined below so you have the basic skills needed for Boot Camp success.
What You Will Learn
This two-day intensive boot camp integrates the principle concepts of epigenetics and the effects of risk factors on the epigenome as we step through the key components of designing and executing DNA methylation studies. Led by a team of scientists with more than 50 years of combined expertise in the field of environmental epigenetics, this epigenetics training will integrate seminar lectures with hands-on computer sessions to put concepts into practice. Emphasis will be given to leveraging existing resources from ongoing studies and initiating new investigations. The afternoon lab sessions will provide an opportunity to work hands-on with real methylation data generated by the Illumina Infinium MethylationEPIC (850k) BeadChip platform. Participants will learn and practice data handling, cleaning, and basic analysis of epigenome-wide DNA methylation data. This training will not cover WGBS or analyses from sequencing experiments in animal models.
By the end of the epigenetics training, participants will be familiar with the following topics:
- Principles of epigenetics
- Concept ideation and study design
- Sample collection and processing
- Laboratory methods and platforms for analysis
- Data handling and cleaning
- Analysis of 450K/EPIC data
- Study design advantages and pitfalls
- Emerging epigenetic topics and laboratory platforms
Instructors
Andres Cardenas is an environmental epidemiologist serving as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health at Stanford University. He joined the faculty at Stanford School of Medicine in 2022. His research focuses on characterizing molecular and epigenetic biomarkers and assessing their contributions to disease risk across the lifespan. Utilizing computational approaches, his group investigates environmental chemical mixtures, biological aging markers, and fetal epigenetic programming.
See external site for full list of instructors.